...direct reference to at least two films, how did Hollywood address the paranoid, hysterical political climate of the 50s? The Cold War began in 1947 between the USSR and the USA. After World War II, both countries began to distrust each other, as they knew the amount of power each country had in terms of nuclear weapons. Not only did they distrust each other, but they lacked a mutual understanding of each other’s culture. The USA believed in capitalism and the USSR believed in communism. This lack of mutual understanding caused mass paranoia within America as they feared that communists would infiltrate their society. This hysteria was known as the Red Scare which lead to “a range of actions that had a profound and enduring effect on U.S. government and society.” (Red Scare, 2013). During World War II “moviegoers learned to appreciate cinema for what it was: a powerful delivery system of ideology” (Doherty, 2003, p. 19) and after World War II “Soviet Communism and American Democracy, found its domestic expression in fierce debates over the subversive influence of the popular media.” (Doherty, 2003, p. 21). Hollywood was scrutinized first for allegedly using the film industry to influence the public about communism. The House of Un-American Activities Committee (HUAC) was formed in 1938, and it’s investigations were “frequently focused on exposing communists working inside the federal government or subversive elements working in the Hollywood film industry” (Red Scare, 2013). On...
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...Essay films are arguably the most innovative and popular forms of filmmaking since the 1990s”, Timothy Corrigan claims in his diligent new study, The Essay Film. Corrigan may have an agenda to press, and a thesis to justify, but the recent critical and commercial success of the genre is hard to ignore. A cinematic wave that arguably has its contemporary roots in the late 1980s, when American filmmakers such as Michael Moore and Errol Morris rose to public prominence, reached an apotheosis with Moore’s hugely popular, though hugely flawed, Fahrenheit 9/11 (2004) and Davis Guggenheim’s information-heavy An Inconvenient Truth (2006), which conjured a compelling piece of screen drama from Al Gore’s Powerpoint presentation. Nowadays, the Award for Best Documentary Feature at the Oscars is one of the most highly coveted. For Corrigan, the essayistic film “describes the many-layered activities of a personal point of view as a public experience”. While this is a perfectly good starting point, the author is so convinced of the elasticity of his subject that he has trouble constraining it under the broader umbrellas of documentary, non-fiction or even fiction. At times it appears that, for Corrigan, all filmmaking is essayistic. Nevertheless, he traces a convincing history of the genre(s) from D. W. Griffith’s prototypical A Corner of Wheat (1909), which contrasts the lives of the agricultural poor with those of their capitalist exploiters, via Dmitri Vertov and Sergei Eisenstein to...
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...Hollywood’s most imaginative and speculative science, both classic and modern periods known as the science fiction genre that cinematically altered the conventional based narratives of filmmaking and character definition with elements of fantasy and horror. When French filmmaker Georges Méliès made Le voyage dans la lune (A Trip To The Moon) in 1902 it was considered to be the first science fiction film ever created. The next tremendously influential and landmark film came from Fritz Lang’s Metropolis in 1927, an impressive and visually stunning motion picture full of German Expressionism. Born from the pages of novels and pulp magazines, intrepid filmmakers and screenwriters of the 1930s and 1940s would venture into the...
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...was funny. If you'd known my grandmother, how defined by hardship her life was, you would have found this incident even funnier. My father, who knew his mother's struggles all too well, had to lean against a tree because he was laughing so hard. Sweet mercy, there is nothing like humor to ease the soul. If you've got a funny story, poem, or essay of your own, here are some places that might be a good fit. Enjoy! THE ALARMIST is a fresh, new, dark, funny and twisted printed literary magazine published biannually. It’s not about trying to prove how clever or well-read you are, mind – we’re not the Paris Review. We want to buck the modern trend, and tickle and entertain with what we publish. ASININE POETRY is the journal of asinine poetry, a quarterly publication of asinine poetry, poetry that is, shall we say, asinine. To wit: Not necessarily bad; mostly kinda funny. BARTLEBY SNOPES is an online literary magazine with several goals in mind. We want to publish the best new fiction we can find. We want to give the many writers out there an opportunity to publish their best work. We want to inspire you to create great works of fiction. BOOTH publishes one piece or author every Friday, directly on our home page. In addition, Booth...
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...ENGLISH 281 Draft Workshop Questions for Essay Two in Wikis Steps: 1. Post your draft to your appointed Wiki area by Sunday, April 5 by midnight. 2. Review drafts attached to your Wiki area and provide feedback using the below questions, pasting the answers in to the Wiki area and making it clear who the answers are for/whose draft you are commenting on and that you are the writer. For example, you could paste in something like the following: Susan, here are my thoughts/feedback on your draft posted so far: #1. [Provide feedback using the criteria below] #2 [Provide feedback using the criteria below] #3 on [Repeat above] You are expected to complete these steps for at least one draft posted to your group’s Wiki by Monday, April 6 by midnight for possible five points credit. Be sure to answer the “Specific Questions” below the first ten questions here depending on which essay prompt you are reading for a draft. 1. Does the author/student have all of the “front matter” needed in the draft? (i.e, Does it give an author tag with the title of the poem in quotes or name of book in italics and name of film in italics being worked with in the essay, for example and the author(s) name of text being discussed in the first one or two sentences of introduction)? If this is information is missing, let the author know here and also provide an example please of how it could be better. 2. Are the introductory sentences attention-grabbing? If they are...
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...Year Nine English AEP Frankenstein/Science Fiction Essay (Reading and Writing Task) Topic: Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the Science Fiction text that allowed all other examples of the sub-genre to follow. Discuss this proposition with specific reference to the Drama Script and Film versions of the novel, along with any other relevant Science Fiction texts you have read or viewed. * Your essay should especially consider Shelley’s context and that of other writers you refer to, as well as your own context as a reader. * You should make specific reference to the texts you are discussing via both direct (quotations) and indirect (explanations) evidence. * Be sure to plan your response so that each paragraph has its own unified idea. A sample paragraph structure might look like the following: 1. Introduction – Thesis: e.g.: “Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein is the first text which uses scientific experimentation as the basis of its plot. In doing this, it paved the way for all Science Fiction which followed…” 2. Body P1 – Author context + sub-genre features – what changes have occurred over time as a result of context? Consider Mary Shelley, H.G. Wells, Ray Bradbury 3. Body P2 – Discussion of Frankenstein 4. Body P3 – Discussion of other text e.g.: War of the Worlds (make some reference to Frankenstein as well) 5. Body P4 - Discussion of other text e.g.: There Will Come Soft Rains (make some reference to Frankenstein as well) ...
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...of the Cinematic Con Orson Welles' 1974 "film essay" F for Fake opens with a scene of Welles, in the role of a magician, performing a sleight of hand trick with a young child, "transforming" the key the young boy has presented him into a coin and then showing how the young boy had the key all the time in his pocket. The magic was the perfect illustration of Welles' purpose in the film. F for Fake was a film about fraud and deceit, about how the makers of art (and, in particular, film) use "trickery" to fool their intended audience into believing something that is not true. The film focuses on three known "charlatans" (Elmyr de Hory, Clifford Irving, and Welles himself) who used their talents to produce such magnificent forgeries that they were able to fool everyone (even so-called "experts") into believing in the truth of their claims. Despite the status of this film as one of Welles' "minor" films from late in his life (it was one of the last films he completed prior to his death in 1985), it has had a tremendous impact on filmmaking, both in a technical sense (the film's complex editing of various film stocks and styles) and in a textual sense. Welles' identification of the ways in which an audience can be manipulated into believing anything as long as it has the "air" of authenticity has had a tremendous impact on current filmmaking, especially in the realm of horror filmmaking with the current crop of "found-footage" films that have appeared in the last thirteen years...
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...,Compare and contrast the narrative structure of at least two of the films studied. Your answer should also evaluate the reasons why these structures were chosen. Since the commercial success of Alejandro González Iñárritu’s Amores Perros in the year 2000, there has been an indubitable resurgence in the amount of interest in, and amount of films being produced within Mexico. This picture, as well as Y Tu Mamá También (2001) by Alfonso Cuarón both received worldwide acclaim and have set a high benchmark for the other Mexican releases since the millennium to live up to. This essay will explore the prominence of narrative structure in the aforementioned Amores Perros (2001), as well as Amat Escalante’s Los Bastardos (2008) and Guillermo Del Toro’s El Espinazo del Diablo (2001). The constituents of a film’s narrative structure come under two different entities: the content of the film’s story, and the way in which the story is presented to the spectator. Vis-à-vis the content of the films story, the essay will mention how, on a thematic level, these films each rely heavily on the use of violence to delineate its message and intentions. James Kendrick states that the use of violence in a film is employed as a structuring device and it is evident that each of these films uses violence for differing intentions, of which the essay will later make discernible. Subsequently, the essay will contrast the order in which the stories are presented to the viewer, chiefly, regarding how Amores...
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...into the wild 4 Into the Wild is a popular film, based on a non-fiction novel written by Jon Krakauer, detailing the journey of Christopher McCandless, a young Emory university graduate who hailed from Virginia, and who took a hike in solitude, in an attempt at self-actualization by bonding with nature and seeking spiritual nourishment. This essay briefly examines the crux of the film. Having graduated on top of his class in 1991 and having attained repute as an athlete, Christopher McCandless left everything in his possession, donated his lifetime savings to the tune of $24,000 to Oxfam International on charitable grounds and set for his pilgrimage. In April 1992 he departed from his daily well-to-do life, torched his wallet with cash inside, renamed himself “Alexander Supertramp’’ and like a pilgrim, headed to the north of Mt. McKinley on his way to Alaska. While on his way there, he stumbles upon a succession of different people and events which influence his life. Though he was cash-strapped, he was determined to make it to the ‘promised land’. He sojourned in America to experience her as a country and her citizens. Among the activities he was involved in on his way to Alaska included a trip with a canoe on high waters, a sojourns with a couple and old widower. He had to endure the vagaries of a long, unplanned expedition: fatigue, hunger and cold, which nearly worked against him. All this while his family never heard from him nor anything related to his whereabouts...
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...Filming, and Imagining Space: Images of (Post)Modern Cityscapes in Contemporary Brazilian Cinema” is a scholarly article discussing the use of urban and architectural cityscape within Brazilian cinema. In films, the city can be used for multiple purposes and makes up the ‘cinematic city plot’, comprised of the city’s buildings, streets, cars, and the actions of the people within the city using these structures for travel, self-reflection, and escape (7). In the essay, the authors dissect how the city plays a role in Brazilian film, particularly exploring films with that are set in Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo. They analyze how films make use of urban space and what these spaces represent and function as in each particular film, especially those that mimic the classical Hollywood film aesthetic. Throughout the essay, Braga and Costa go into great detail on the connection between Hollywood cinema and the “’urban-oriented’ Brazilian films that emerged later in the 1980s” (9). During this period, a lot of films emerged with a primary focus on the urban problem of the country, particularly violence. Through the incorporation of real lived space in the films, an aesthetic of realism was created. The authors note, “Rather than being an accidental setting, the city in any given film functions as a particularly privileged site for representing an important alternative to the dominant discourses of and about the culture they represent” (8). The city is used as more of a character in...
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...outcomes of recent events, for others it is too real of a reality, a reality that is filled with fear, suffering, and a dystopian vision of America's future. Many people have experienced discrimination from Caucasian people, it is like they don’t care of others emotions and are being ignorant within each other. In this essay, I wish to accomplish the goal of showing how science fiction can overlap with reality and the ways in which people’s nightmarish imagination have become eerily prophetic. One of the books of science fiction that comes to mind is the works of Octavia Butler titled Parable of the Talents. In the book, Butler describes a future America torn apart by religious, economic, and civil unrest. Much like in the contemporary political arena where conservatives belittle...
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...THE PLAGUE Essay Proposal Film noir is a cinematic term used to describe heavily stylized Hollywood crime dramas emphasizing on cynical attitudes, sexual motivations and recurring dark themes. However, film noir is not considered a genre and it is not defined by conventions of setting and conflict but rather by the subtle aspects and details of tone and mood. The two films being compared are Out of the Past and Sin City. Out of the Past was filmed in 1947 and directed by Jacques Tourneur. It is a superb example of film noir due to its convoluted dreamlike storyline and the impressive chiaroscuro cinematography. It has since, been added to the United States National Film Registry as being deemed “culturally, historically or aesthetically significant” in 1991. Sin City on the other hand is a 2005 neo-noir film produced and directed by Frank Miller and Robert Rodriguez. The former being an actual film from Hollywood’s most celebrated but relatively unknown era in filmography, differs vastly from that of Sin City but at the same time drawing similarities in comparison generated from the various aspects of film noir. This will be further analyzed by comparing the two films to what film noir is comprised of. Looking back into the history of film noir and why it was deemed so important, there were four catalytic elements that could define the technique and the distinct trait of noir drew from them. War and post war disillusionments, post war realism, the German influence...
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...Revolution 2020 (2011). All the books have remained bestsellers since their release and three have inspired Bollywood films (including the hit film 3 Idiots). In 2008, The New York Times called Bhagat "the biggest selling English language novelist in India's history". Bhagat, an alumnus of Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Delhi and Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, is seen more as a youth icon than as an author. Time magazine named him as one of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. What Young India Wants In his latest book, What Young India Wants, Chetan Bhagat asks hard questions, demands answers and presents solutions for a better, more prosperous India. • Why do our students regularly commit suicide? • Why is there so much corruption in India? • Can’t our political parties ever work together? • Does our vote make any difference at all? • We love our India, but shouldn’t some things be different? What Young India Wants is based on Chetan Bhagats vast experience as a very successful writer and motivational speaker. In clear, simple prose, and with great insight, he analyses some of the complex issues facing modern India, offers solutions and invites discussion on them. And, at the end, he asks this important question: Unless we are all in agreement on what it is going to take to make our country better, how will things ever change? Non-fiction If you want to understand contemporary India, the problems that face it, and want to be a part of the solution...
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...COURSE OUTLINE “The media’s the most powerful entity on earth. They have the power to make the innocent guilty and the guilty innocent, and that’s power. Because they control the minds of the masses.” Malcolm X Mass communication to Everyone. Disseminating Information to a wide Audience. What is Media? The media is the means of mass communication, such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television and film. The media disseminates meaning to a mass audience. The word media is derived from the Latin “medium”, which means “an agency; or the way something is communicated or expressed”. What is Media Studies? Media Studies is the study of how meaning is created and disseminated through the media. The media that are studied are those of mass, rather than interpersonal communication, such as mobile phones. The media texts may be newspapers or magazines, television or radio programmes, cinema films, advertisements, music videos and websites. The range of media texts will cover fiction and non-fiction, such as Donnie Darko, Bowling For Columbine, The Simpsons, and Nike adverts. Media is a construct; messages are being mediated and a point of view communicated, even where the events seem at their most ‘raw’ and direct. This course will enable you to look at and listen to media products, not simply as a consumer, but as a critic - able to question the content and purpose of the messages rather than take them at face value. You will...
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...Irvine Welsh 'Trainspotting' Extract from ‘Trainspotting’: Traditional Sunday breakfast. A Scottish novel, released in 1993. An essay commenting on Welsh's use of language, style and tone. When digging a little beneath the surface of the extract from trainspotting: Traditional Sunday Breakfast, you may see a hint of the authors thoughts, given on the working classes ‘verbal rights’. Watching the film Trainspotting, underlines Welsh’s statement (from the Herald Scotland) quoting that “The classic assumption of such fiction holds true: working-class people speak funny so are in fiction only for the purposes of humor. They do not have an internal life, therefore you traditionally do not have a Renton or a Begbie or a Spud expressing themselves in the narrative of a book.” What he states here, is that working-class people are allowed to speak, but not think, in middle-class fiction. My knowledge gained of the characters from Traditional Sunday Breakfast, through watching the full film, has set the characters in a completely new light than if reading the extract alone, I choose not to abstract from this knowledge. Traditional Sunday Breakfast gives grotesque imagery within Davies narrative, while Welsh portrays the deconstructed lifestyle of a heroin addict. One can look at Welsh's attitude towards non-standard Scottish dialect and language use as a guide to how it should be used in a narration, to create characters that to multiple extents are unaware of how their ways...
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